Palestinians says International Criminal Court prosecutor can examine alleged war crimes now

UNITED NATIONS – The Palestinian U.N. ambassador says the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court can immediately start examining allegations of war crimes against Israel if she chooses.

Riyadh Mansour said the Palestinians formal acceptance of the court's jurisdiction starting June 13, 2014 gives prosecutor Fatou Bensouda a green light to take up the question of alleged war crimes on Palestinian territory without waiting for Palestine to formally become a member of the court on April 1.

President Mahmoud Abbas submitted the declaration to the ICC registrar on Jan. 1.

Fadi El Abdallah, a spokesman for the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, confirmed that the prosecutor can now in theory begin a "preliminary examination" of potential cases in the Palestinian territories. Those could include allegations of crimes during last summer's Gaza war and Israeli settlements.